Work Text:
Owen's boots crunched in the snow as they walked along the sidewalk. They didn't particularly hate the cold - even before being turned, they'd always run cold, so they were used to feeling like they were freezing at all times - but the one thing they hated was how gloomy everything looked. The snow was nothing like the pretty white fields, clumped on tree branches and blanketing the ground, that they'd grown up with. It was more of a gray-brown slush, nearly translucent on the roads where cars drove across it.
It seemed that no one cared, however, not in the slightest. Everyone was merely unhappy at the existence of winter in its entirety. They wondered what the other vampires were thinking, the ones they'd met in Oakhurst, but they knew no one would appreciate them stopping by. Their relationship with Abolish, Legundo, and Pyro was strictly work-related and they were hardly on speaking terms with anyone else.
They really should've been home by now, with how dark it was outside, but the idea of going home to spend Christmas Eve alone sounded like hell. If they were being honest, they'd rather die.
"Owen?" They nearly jumped at the sound of the voice behind them, stopping in their tracks. "What are you doing out so late?"
They slowly turned around to face Pyro. He had a Walmart bag in one of his hands, holding his phone in the other. Owen stared at them for a few long seconds before slowly saying, "I'm just heading home. What are you doing out here?"
"Abolish ran out of energy drinks." Pyro lifted up the bag for a moment, giving a small shrug. "Actually, speaking of him, he mentioned wanting to invite you over but you didn't respond to him?"
That nearly knocked Owen onto their ass, honestly. They opened their mouth to speak but couldn't find anything to say. Abolish had wanted to invite them over? Abolish, the one who seemed to honestly not care in the slightest about anyone or anything? Surely they were interpreting that wrong.
"I mean it's fine if you have plans or just don't wanna come," Pyro said quickly, glancing down at their phone. "We've just missed you, since we've all had the week off and stuff..." He trailed off slowly, before clamping his mouth shut and going still and silent.
"Sorry," Owen forced out after another few seconds of silence. "I… my phone has been dead for most of the week. I didn't think anyone would…" Their gaze dropped to the ground as they went quiet as well.
"Oh, no, that's fine," Pyro said quickly, a smile reappearing on their face, although they still looked quite nervous. "Abolish wasn't upset, he just thought you didn't like him or something."
Didn't like him? Saying that Owen liked Abolish would be a drastic understatement. The man had saved their life hundreds of times by now, comforted them when they were at their worst, stayed by their side through everything. He was the reason why Owen was here today.
They must've been making some sort of expression because Pyro lifted his phone to his face, trying to cover his mouth as he grinned. "I mean, I know you like him, he just doesn't believe me."
There was something about the man's tone that felt off, and it only took a few seconds for them to realize what it was. "Oh, no, no, no, not like that, I-" They were beyond grateful they didn't have enough blood in their body to blush. "I care about him, of course, I consider it a friend if it's comfortable with that, but I… I don't feel that way towards him, I've only felt that way towards one person and that was hundreds of years ago."
"Uh huh." Pyro raised an eyebrow slightly, then cleared their throat, asking, "So, do you want to come back with me or…?"
"Yes," Owen replied immediately, watching the way he raised his eyebrow a bit more. They were really not good at this whole hiding their emotions thing, were they? Not as good as Abolish was, at least, considering they'd had no idea he even liked them at all until now.
"Come on then, let's get back before Abolish and Legs decide to start making out on the couch again," Pyro said, waving for Owen to follow them as they started walking down the sidewalk again. It took a moment for Owen to process that, before they blinked a few times at Pyro, trying to figure out if that was a joke or not.
After a moment, they slowly said, "Making out?"
Pyro glanced back at them. "Yeah, I've walked in on them a few times now, just an unfortunate consequence of living with them I guess." He paused and let out a quiet laugh. "Or a fortunate one, depending on how you look at it."
"I thought you and Abolish were dating?" Owen felt like their head was spinning a bit. Not only was Abolish taken, but Legs was too? The universe hated them personally, they supposed.
"We are, yeah. Abolish is dating both of us." Pyro tilted his head slightly. "And I don't really know what me and Legs are, honestly."
"Oh." Huh. That was possibly the reason why Owen had always felt so excluded, because their coworkers were dating. It explained a lot, actually. Why had no one told them?
"You're like… fine with that, right?" Pyro slowed a bit to stare up at Owen. They were suddenly hit with the fact that he was still apprehensive around them, even after all these years, which… wasn't the best feeling. Especially with how much they cared about him now. It was very strange to care about anyone, especially someone they'd been planning to kill two hundred years ago.
"Of course," they said quickly, once they realized they hadn't responded with anything. Then, forcing a very awkward smile, they added, "Just feel a little left out."
That earned a quiet laugh. "I mean, I'm sure the two of them wouldn't mind you asking them out. Especially Abolish, he's constantly eyeing you the same way he stares at Legs."
Well, that was news to Owen, but certainly not unwelcome news. The idea of Abolish staring at them - in a good way, not a "why do I have to work with this freak" way - felt nice, actually. It made their stomach do a flip in a way they almost never felt.
"And you?" Owen said suddenly, catching themself off guard. Pyro nearly tripped and fell, looking up at them quickly, and they could see the half-vampire's face flush a pretty red.
"Me?" Pyro sounded shocked, to say the least. They blinked a few times as they said, "I, well, I wouldn't mind either, I guess."
Staring down at Pyro, Owen could see the surprise written all over his face, the feeling of you must be joking. It was one they themself wore all the time. The look was possibly the only thing that didn't look good on Pyro; Owen would much rather they felt like they could be liked at least, especially after all this time.
"I'll keep that in mind," Owen said at last, before falling silent. Pyro still looked a bit surprised, but he went quiet as well, continuing down the street.
The two of them had reached a neighborhood now, one with decently large houses, some of them decorated nicely with Christmas lights that stood out against the snow. Owen would've wondered how the three of them lived in such a clearly rich neighborhood if they weren't well aware of how rich Abolish and Legundo were. Abolish was a nepo baby and Legundo was a doctor, after all.
"Well, we're here," Pyro said as they hurried up to the front door of one of the houses. The outside was only sparsely decorated with some lights strung up in the trees in the front yard. Owen followed close behind him, hands in their pockets as they watched him unlock and open the door.
"There you are, Jack," Abolish said from where he was sitting on the couch. Or, more accurately, sitting in Legundo's lap. His eyes fell on Owen after a second and his face seemed to light up, his eyes a bit wide as he said, "Owen."
"Abolish." Owen hesitated in the doorway, before Pyro grabbed their arm and pulled them inside, shutting the door behind them. Clearing their throat as Pyro dragged them over to the couch, they said, "Sorry for… not responding to you. My phone was dead, I didn't think anyone was going to text me, since we're off work and all."
"I assumed as much," Abolish said, its expression neutral again as it regained its composure. "It's good to have you stop by." Legundo nodded slightly in agreement, but didn't say anything. Owen had to admit that the two of them were still not on the best terms, even after all this time, although their relationship had improved over the past few decades.
And then Legundo asked, "Why don't you sit down? Stay a while."
Owen hesitated once again. Everything in them was telling them that this was a trap, somehow, that they were only going to be hurt or made fun of. No one would ever want someone like them anywhere near them, right? But Abolish and Legundo were both staring at them with those pretty, welcoming brown and green eyes, and they found themself sitting down despite their reservations. None of these people had hurt them in a very long time now. They wished their brain would stop panicking over that at every turn.
Pyro walked back over from the kitchen, tossing Abolish an energy drink. With a quick thanks, he opened it up, shifting to rest his back against Legundo's chest. It only took a moment for Legundo to wrap his arms around the shorter man's waist. Owen wished they were being held like that - or that they were holding Abolish like that, either would be wonderful.
"So, how have you been holding up?" Pyro asked as he sat next to Owen, kicking off his shoes. He pulled his knees up to his chest and leaned against their side.
"Fine," they said simply, resting their head back against the couch. "Just… not doing much."
"You should come over more often," Abolish suggested, before taking a sip of its drink. If Owen was able to blush, they probably would be, especially with the way Abolish was looking at them with those gorgeous brown eyes. They'd never understood why people called brown eyes pretty - they had brown eyes, after all, and their eyes certainly weren't the prettiest - until they'd met Abolish.
It took a few moments before Owen murmured, "Maybe."
They looked away from Abolish, taking a glance around the room. There was a fireplace, but no fire going at the moment, and Owen wondered if it even worked. They could remember hundreds of years ago, in the dead of winter, hauling logs inside to burn in their shoddily made fireplace. Had it really been that long ago? It was over four hundred years ago now, although really they'd only been awake for half of that.
Things were different now. Very, very different. That much was evident based on the Christmas tree in the corner decorated with plastic ornaments and warm white lights. No matter how long they lived, they weren't sure they'd ever get completely used to the modern age.
"You really should," Legundo said, while Abolish took another drink. "We'd love to see you more often outside of work, you basically disappear the second the day is over."
"I didn't think you all wanted to talk to me." It sounded stupid now that they said it out loud, and Legs raised an eyebrow slightly at them.
"Why would you think that?"
"I… don't know."
At that, Legs gave a slight roll of his eyes, but oddly enough it didn't seem angry or mocking. He simply said, "Well, we do want to talk to you. I promise."
Owen fell silent, just watching the two of them. Pyro was still leaning against their side, his face nuzzled into their shoulder, and they had half a mind to wrap an arm around him. They weren't sure if that'd be appreciated, though.
It only took a few moments before Legs rested his head on top of Abolish's and said, "You really need to stop drinking so many energy drinks."
"I don't see why," Abolish said with a slight eye roll. "I'm a vampire, it's not like it'll kill me. I can't even have a heart attack, can I?"
That made Owen pause. Abolish was a vampire, wasn't it? They hadn't been aware vampires could consume energy drinks. Unless it was making itself sick, which they highly doubted.
"God knows what it's doing to your stomach, though." Legs tilted his head to bury his face in Abolish's hair. Abolish didn't respond with anything other than a quiet scoff, taking another sip of its drink.
The two of them looked so… comfortable. As if they'd known each other their entire lives - Owen supposed they did, in a way. They may have met in adulthood, but those twenty or fifty years were nothing compared to the two hundred they'd lived now. They and Pyro acted like they were married. Really, they were in everything but name. Owen wished they'd tried harder to get closer to any of them, or even tried at all.
"Owen, would you maybe want to stay the night?" Pyro's voice yanked them out of their thoughts. He glanced over at Abolish and Legundo, the latter blinking open his eyes to look up at Owen. "If it's alright with you two as well."
"Of course it is," Abolish hummed as he leaned further back against Legundo.
After a few seconds, Owen found themself nodding and saying, "I can stay, yeah." Glancing back at Pyro, they watched him grin, before his arms slid around their waist to pull them closer.
"Great," the shorter individual said, lips halfway pressed against Owen's shoulder. They were incredibly thankful they couldn't blush. Not that they would be blushing, they were sure this was purely platonic, after all. And they'd agreed for entirely platonic, friendly reasons as well.
"There's a guest bedroom you can stay in," Abolish said, a small smile on his face. "Or you could come crawling into my bed like these two always do. There's plenty of room." Abolish's eyes seemed to shine as Pyro pouted, Legs looking mildly offended.
"You're the one who whines about it anytime we don't cuddle with you," Legs pointed out, and judging from the way Abolish pouted and tried to hide his face behind his drink, Owen could only assume that was true.
"And you always come cuddle with us if we don't go to you first," Pyro added, lifting their head to grin at their boyfriend. Abolish pouted slightly, brows furrowing as he half-glared at Pyro, which was honestly one of the most adorable expressions Owen had ever seen.
"Whatever," he sighed, waving his free hand dismissively. "Owen, you can sleep in a guest bedroom, or you can sleep with whoever you want. Literal sleeping with, please do not have sex, I actually need to sleep tonight."
"Aw, unfortunate," Pyro sighed, nuzzling his face into Owen's shoulder again.
"You be quiet." Abolish said it with an almost inaudible giggle, tilting his head back as he finished off his drink. He then squinted over at the trash can across the room.
"Do not," Legs said immediately, but Abolish was already throwing the can at it. He barely made it in, but he managed not to miss; Legs shook his head with disappointment anyways.
"Speaking of sleeping, I probably should get to bed," Abolish said, shifting a bit before standing up. Legs stood up with him, keeping one arm hooked around his waist. "Goodnight, you two, feel free to join us whenever."
Join us. Owen watched as the two of them walked away. If anything had been ambiguous before, it certainly seemed clear as day now. The thought of being in the same room as any of their three coworkers - friends? - already made them feel like they were going to explode, but cuddling with them? The emotions they were feeling were indescribable.
"Do you want to?" Pyro asked, voice soft against their neck. He was breathing evenly, warm against their skin. It felt odd having him this close, but they weren't complaining, especially knowing that he rarely felt comfortable enough to get this close to anyone.
They knew what he was asking, and after a few seconds they murmured, "Yeah, sure." They tried to make it sound casual. They were sure they didn't succeed at that, based on the way Pyro smiled against them.
"Come on, then." Pyro pulled away and stood up, extending their hand to Owen. "Let's not keep them waiting."